Most high occupancy buildings have a number of shared restrooms. Each such restroom typically has a number of sinks, toilets, and urinals. Each of these plumbing fixtures has at least one fresh water supply line, which supply line is normally operated by means of a local manual flush valve.
The manually operated local valves are subject to abuse. The valves may malfunction or otherwise be rendered always open, with the result that fresh water is unnecessarily dispensed and ultimately required to be treated elsewhere. The locally operated valves have recently also become undesirable because of concern for the spread of infectious disease, thereby sometimes requiring extraordinary maintenance of the restroom.
Various types of sensors have been proposed for causing automatic operation of the local flush valve. Should the sensor detect the presence of a user, then operation of the valve is initiated at some appropriate time. The sensor is itself usually positioned proximate to or integral with the associated flush valve, thereby unnecessarily complicating the mechanism.
The manually operated flush valves are typically connected to a piped water distribution system, thereby requiring couplings, elbows, hangers, and like elements for assuring that the water is communicated from a source to the valve. Installation of these various plumbing components can be both time consuming and expensive, and repair costs are likewise increased because the components are typically disposed behind a wall.
Those skilled in the art will appreciate that there is a need for a fresh water distribution system which minimizes installation and repair costs, which minimizes the possibility for valve abuse, and which minimizes line sizing as a means for further reducing operating costs. The disclosed invention provides these features by virtue of a remotely operated manifold system capable of supplying fresh water to any one or all of a plurality of sinks, toilets and urinals.